Volume Definition The word "volume" has several different meanings. The most common definition is the magnitude or intensity of a certain sound. Volume may also refer to how much space a three-dimensional object takes up. However, in the always ambiguous realm of computers, the word volume can also refer to a specific data storage device. Some examples of volumes include hard disks, DVD drives, and flash memory drives, such as USB keychain drives. Your computer recognizes all these data ...

CD-R Definition CD-R Stands for "Compact Disc Recordable." CD-R discs are blank CDs that can record data written by a CD burner. The word "recordable" is used because CD-Rs are often used to record audio, which can be played back by most CD players. However, many other kinds of data can also be written to a CD-R, so the discs are also referred to as "writable CDs." The data burned onto a CD-R disc is permanent, meaning it can not be altered or erased like the data on a hard drive. Typically...

Flash Drive Definition Flash drives have many names — jump drives, thumb drives, pen drives, and USB keychain drives. Regardless of what you call them, they all refer to the same thing, which is a small data storage device that uses flash memory and has a built-in USB connection. Flash drives are typically no more than two to three inches in length and less than an inch in width. Their size and shape may resemble a thumb or a small pen (which is where the names "thumb drive" and "pen drive...

SmartMedia card Definition A SmartMedia card (originally called a solid-state floppy disk card, or SSFDC) is a memory card developed by Toshiba that uses flash memory to store data and to make it portable among devices, such as digital cameras, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other handheld devices. At 45 X 37 mm and less than 1 mm thick (about as big as a matchbook), SmartMedia is similar in size to the CompactFlash card (although significantly thinner), but larger than the newer...

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Definition Personal digital assistant is a term for a small, mobile, handheld device that provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use, often for keeping schedules, calendars and address book information handy. Popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, personal digital assistants (PDAs) were the precursors to smartphones. Most PDAs had a small physical keyboard, and some had an electronically sensitive pad on ...

Camcorder (camera recorder) Definition A camcorder (camera recorder) is a portable electronic recording device capable of recording live-motion video and audio for later playback. Camcorders have three major components -- a lens that gathers and focuses light, an imager that converts light into an electrical signal and a recorder that converts electrical signals into digital video and encodes them for storage. Camcorders, which became popular in the early 1980s, are also known as video r...

Digital Camera Definition A digital camera is a similar to a traditional film-based camera, but it captures images digitally. When you take a picture with a digital camera, the image is recorded by a sensor, called a "charged coupled device" or CCD. Instead of saving the picture on analog film like traditional cameras, digital cameras save photos in digital memory. Some digital cameras have built-in memory, but most use an SD or Compact Flash card. Digital cameras have several advantages ove...